Stories for the young

week 6
sem 1
"Refugee art"

One thing i had never known of all my years in living abroad here in malaysia are the type of people that live among us, refugees. We had gotten our latest assignment  where we are to design the visual parts of a story book for young refugee children here in malaysia. These children have been brought up with several problems from many parts of the world. We were already given a narration based on the lives of these children and are to illustrate them out for a story book.

We were each given a name of a refugee child who had been interviewed recently on thier lives and how they got to Malaysia in the end, even the problems they faced after arriving here.

This is the story of a little 14 year old girl named Ja Roi, below are the words of Ja Roi herself.

"Hi my name is Ja Roi. I’m from Myanmar. I’m 14 years old and I’m living as refugee in this Malaysia. My race is kachin I’m a Christian. I’ll like to talk one of my real story in my life. When I first arrived here I don’t like English at all but with the help from some Myanmar people around us and we go to the school that part(0:21) of from community we living in setapak to acodak plate block D and in that time that’s a lot of blackmail cases happened in the block that we lived especially in the lift It was from the some gang of teenagers were the citizens of this country.

We had just arrived not even about two weeks yet and the cases and the cases are happening already. For us this place is really weird because we just arrived and really scared because we haven’t get our UN card yet. In outside we had to afraid of police and when we come back to home we still to only afraid of those of gang of teenagers instead of blackmail it’s also kind of bully I think because we are from the other countries-different people, different races. I think those teenagers suggest about same age with my brother they got ten years old twelve years old thirteen years old fifteen years old and just around nineteen something I guess.

They’re not just blackmail to the children. They’re also blackmail to the older people also. Because they know the even though we go and complain also nothing happen to them. Not just blackmail money from us but they also have been rip a lot of the Myanmar ladies in lift some died because of that cases. I don’t know how they feel when they’re doing such those kind of rubbish but every cases that they make to us will affect that to every family member.

We have to live in this like of situation we have no freedom for ourselves or for our heart or even for our brain like. We have to go somewhere we have to used to lift to go down or go up to isn’t it. So we have to live in the place that had full of fear and scare and thinking when will they come when will they come. When I am waiting for lift I am always almost shaking every time because I am scared of them. They can come in anytime isn’t it. So they blackmail money from my brother and when my brother say that he don’t have then they bullied my brother punch him and knock his head and say rubbish words in Malay to my brother. Well in that time, we are just arrived so my brother couldn’t understand what they’re saying to him. But he know the kind of bully.

It’s kind of rubbish words bad words. They checked all of pockets and they found 50 cents from my brother pocket but that is for both of us fill water in the water bottle because my mother ask both of us go to ground floor and get water. But I can’t believe that even 50 cents so so they take and displite(3:16) to my brother and when the lift reached the ground floor and we wanted to go out and one of and one of the guys pull my head. And he was saying a lot to me Malay with disgusting expression in that while I only know scare I want to cry only and and in that short moment that feeling that feeling is the feeling that I don’t ever had been feel in my life.

I don’t know what to do at all but after he finished with his words I relieved and he just let go of me and we’ve moved to another area we just still in stapak. Stapak but in the different area a bit far from this area and it’s in cnical(4:07) condo because that condo is guard, security card so we no need to afraid that kind and now we can live slightly comfortable than we lived last year. Although this is not 100% peaceful but I am still happy with it. Thank you."

You can read more about her and other children from the same foundation on http://chasingthewind.wikispaces.com here, every individual was interviewed and their statements were recorded. 

Our assignment allows us to explore the world of other people who are not as lucky as we are, with our technology, laptops, phones, good food, money.. This assignment allows us to help the refugee children for a better learning environment (: